


Contempt of Court (clean)

by FixOrRideDaily



Series: Until Proven Guilty [7]
Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Cheating, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Femslash, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 00:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10502964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FixOrRideDaily/pseuds/FixOrRideDaily
Summary: Jessica Riley has always love Emily Davis





	

**Author's Note:**

> Clean version of my JessEm fic of the same name.

Jessica had always loved Emily. Looking back over all the years they had known each other that much was more than obvious. Like most great relationships theirs had sprouted from a place of conflict and like a wild rose bush grew both beautiful bright petals and think sharp thorns as time went on. 

Madison High Prep School, which was easily the best and most expensive school in Jessica's district, started unlike most secondary schools in the state at Eighth grade not Ninth and accepted only seventy starting students per school year and less then ten transfers over the following years. Samantha and Jessica were each others' best and oldest friends for years. The summer before Eighth grade though that title had been stolen away from Jess by some girl named Hannah Washington Sam absolutely adored. At least she had a twin sister named Beth so Jess never felt left out when the girls were all together.

The Washington siblings were going to be going to Madison in the Fall. Their places there had been guaranteed basically since they were born. Jess and Sam would be going to Jacksonville High, the local public high school. Hannah and Beth's older brother Josh, whom Jessica actually liked a lot, convinced his best friend Chris, who was easily the smartest (and most annoying) boy Jessica had ever met in her short life, to apply to Madison as well. He was accepted and would be joining his partner in crime at the prestigious academy instead of going to the local public school like them. He qualified for a bunch of scholarships to make up the difference in tuition payments because he was smart, he had been a boy scout and also he was ambidextrous. The two boys were so excited about going to high school together.

Jess thinks that's what gave Hannah the idea to encourage Sam to apply there as well. Sam told her she would love to go to school with Hannah again, but there was no way her family would be able to afford something like that. Her moms were an at home Healthcare Aid and professional portrait Photographer. That's when Chris, who never seemed to shut up, mentioned his scholarships in that whiny voice of his. He told Sam that she should do the application anyway. She didn't have to think about the money until she was accepted. Even then though Jess didn't worry much about having to go to high school alone. Sam put it best herself. She was a good student but she wasn't as smart or talented as Chris was.

Too bad Madison liked that Sam did so much volunteer work in her free time and was a great athlete. She qualified under the diversity quota too because she came from an “alternative home environment.” They classified her as an example of an open-minded, intelligent, dedicated, and well-rounded student. Sam spent a full week looking into scholarships she could apply to. She and Hannah were both thrilled.

There were two choices: Give up and hope she didn't lose her entire social group or get into Madison. Jessica was not the kind of girl who gave up.

Madison offered entrance exams all the way up until the end of summer unless all the open spots were filled before then. The longer you waited the less chance your application had. Then there were some students so perfect (had the money, the family name and the academics) that they had Madison begging THEM to attend. Beth Washington was one of those students and she spent her summer before Eighth grade tutoring other students for their entrance exams into the school. Later Jess would learn this was how Beth met Matt whom the school wanted to recruit due to his athletic prowess, but he had a bad GPA by their standards and needed to be tutored by Beth first. This was also how Jess first met Emily.

Madison wouldn't want Jessica. Her family had the money for it, which the school would be interested in, but she had nothing else to offer. The school had no excuse to admit her. Her grades were slightly above average. She had no special talents. She was pretty, but she was white and from a two-parent, high income family. (She would find out when they met that Ashley got through Madison basically as a charity case on financial aid and her brains alone, which is why it took her two tries to get accepted.)

Jessica went to the school to see what she might be able to do about the matter. 

According to a map she found online the office was in a building labeled the administration building. The school had four buildings in total. Building three seemed to be the biggest one and the most main building despite its name. It had two gyms, almost all of the classrooms and the cafeteria. Building two which was a little smaller had a theater in it as well as a music room and an art room. Building one was the smallest of the three and had the technology labs and a few club rooms. There was even a special room in there just for student counsel meetings. The last tiny building equal distance from the other three was the administration building where she was heading. That had the nurse's office, the Principal and Vice principal's offices, another random office or two, a classroom for some purpose or another and a meeting room of some kind. It was more like a college than a high school. Though being the start of summer there was no one on the campus and that was creepy. She hurried along to the building. 

First off the building was obviously the oldest one on the grounds and it was very pretty for it and looking at the pictures on the wall it seemed that rather than having a uniform the school simply had a dress code students conformed to which she was relieved to find out. She walked into the first office she saw that looked open and headed up to the desk. A young man with dark hair and bright eyes sat behind the desk and he was typing away at the computer in front on him. Jess had expected there to be more people. She had expected a long line in fact.

“How can a help you?” the man asked nicely glancing at her before checking a stack of papers for something and comparing it to whatever was on his screen. He changed something on the screen to match the papers.

“I'd like to apply to be a student here in the Fall,” Jess answered tapping her finger against her phone in her hand impatiently, “But I'm not sure my application is good enough and I was wondering how I might boost my chances of getting accepted.”

The man looked at her disapprovingly. The brightness in his eyes faded a little. Jess had a feeling this was a question he got all the time, but she didn't care much. She needed a solution and she only wanted to know if he had one or not. Anything else was irrelevant to what was happening.

“Well, there isn't much you can do at this stage in the process,” the man stressed still trying to appear friendly, but he was also trying to say 'no, not really.' She had no interest in his opinions on the matter just in his information, “It's really something you have to start early and work on for awhile.”

“Is there anything I can do at this stage?” Jessica asked persistently because she knew what she had come here for and she was going to get it.

The man sighed, “The best I can recommend you is to go meet with one of our more recently recruited students and ask about their application process and maybe get some tips. If you want I can pull up the name of one who volunteered for it right now.”

It sounded like a stupid idea, but if she agreed the school might see her interest and take her application more seriously. She decided she would do it if for no other reason than that and wondered if it would be good or bad for her to end up getting Sam or Chris' name because both of them definitely volunteered for this. She hadn't told any of her friends that she was applying to this school as well. That would be a Hell of a way for them to find out that was for sure.

“Here we go,” he said, “If you are sure that you are interested...” he paused and Jess nodded her head hard at him, “I'll set a meeting up between you and Miss Emily Davis then.”

Their meeting was at a Starbucks in a rich neighborhood, and Jess was fifteen minutes late because she hadn't figured out a good excuse to tell her mom ahead of time.

She rushed in, got in line (because she needed a iced Chai tea after she sprint there), and once she had ordered she looked around for a girl around her age who looked like she might be meeting someone. It was a Starbucks so nearly everyone in there was her age. Thankfully most of them were in groups of four or five. In fact there was only one girl sitting on her own off by the window.

Jessica's first thought was that she'd be very pretty if she didn't look so mean. Her hair was black and straight and pulled back in a business-like ponytail. She wore a plain gray skirt and cute white top. She was wearing fancy black sandals too. She had on the perfect amount of makeup and she had clear nail polish on. She wore wire framed glasses and was reading a magazine. The way she sat was terrifying. Jess was afraid to approach her. She sat with perfect posture, her legs crossed with one foot swinging in rhythm. She was poised like a statue. Jess got the impression that while she was distracted she was still aware of her immediate surroundings at all times and ready to strike if needed. She was the kind of girl Jess thought only existed on T.V.. Girls that saw life as a competition. One they were always winning.

Jess was going to leave because this Alpha Bitch was not worth it until the barrista called out her name. The raven-haired girl, Emily, looked up sharply and removed her glasses with more class than Jess had ever seen anyone accomplish. Her eyes bore right into Jess and it was clear the girl was not impressed. Jess thought about leaving again. Wouldn't that show her? If Jess left. 'You thought I was the girl you were waiting for? Well, I'm not!' But they locked eyes for too long and Jess confirmed through their eye contact that she was indeed the Jessica that Emily had been waiting on. If Jess left now it would look like she was running away from Emily. Besides she wanted into Madison. Jess turned and smiled sweetly as she took her drink before spinning and walking straight towards Emily. They kept their eyes on each other the whole time.

“You must be Emily,” Jess said when she reached her as nicely as she could and with the biggest smile she could muster, “I'm Jessica, but you can call me Jess.”

“Hello, Jess,” Emily replied sounding bored and held her hand out flat. It took Jess a second to realize she was waiting for her to hand over her application. Jess pulled out what she had from her bag and sat down across from Emily without waiting to be invited. She wasn't going to act all intimidated by this she-devil of a girl. Emily's eyes opened a little wider but she didn't comment. Jess sipped her drink as she watched Emily put her glasses back on and close her magazine after dog earring the page. She read over the application as they silently waited for the other to start talking first. Emily looked confused.

At first Jess was determined to wait her out. She couldn't be the one to crack first. She didn't want to show weakness in front of this girl. She couldn't show weakness in front of this girl. Eventually though the silence got to be too much and she had to say something, “Do you think you can help me, Emily? This is pretty important to me.”

“Cut the crap,” Emily snapped. Jess, embarrassingly, flinched, “Why do you want to go to Madison?”

“What?” Jess asked innocently, “It's a good school.”

“Like you care,” Emily answered, “Your GPA is barely above average and that's only because you excel at Music and Physical Education. You've never done an extra curricular that isn't gymnastics which congrats you're a girl. You have no special talents listed. You've never placed in any state-wide competitions. Hell, you've never entered any state-wide competitions. You speak one language and based on your grades in the subject you hardly handle that. You have obviously never before in your life even considered going to a private school. Academics mean shit to you Blondie, so fess up.”

Jess dropped her sweet act then and there. If this bitch wanted to throw down then she could do that.

“You want know what?” Jessica said leaning forward, “Why I want to go to Madison is none of your damn business?”

“Is it a boy?” Emily mocked flipping further through Jess' application, “Afraid of losing your middle school sweetheart so you're following him to high school and then you'll follow him to college?”

“I don't have to tell you and I don't want to tell you,” Jess hissed through her teeth, fuming, “I'm here and you're here so I can get advice on my application. So let's do that and then we don't ever have to see each other again.”

“Oh honey,” Emily laughed, “This thing is an absolute train wreck... I mean maybe if I had some more information I could do something about it, but as it stands you're out of luck.”

She tossed Jess' application on the table and leaned back with her arms crossed and a smile on her face. No not a smile, a smirk. An evil diabolical smirk. She was taunting Jess. Jess knew she didn't have to take that.

“You are so mean,” she said standing up and walking away, “Thanks for nothing.”

“Oh? Are you leaving?” Emily asked turning to watch her go. Jess spun back to look at her hoping to God the tears she could feel in her eyes wouldn't start to fall as she did.

“Of course I'm leaving!” Jess nearly yelled, “You've been mean to me this whole entire time. I never did anything to you. I just wanted your help.”

“I said I could help you,” Emily reminded her, “You need some tutoring to bring up your grades and I think I actually found something in your application that might get you into the school.”

Jess' eyes lit up wondering where the girl's sudden change in attitude was coming from until she continued talking, “But tell me why you want to go to Madison first. I'm not going to help you for a stupid reason. It's a waste of my time and yours.”

She probably just wanted to know why Jess wanted into her fancy prep school so she could make fun of her. Jess didn't know how anyone could be so cruel. Had she even actually found anything in Jess' application that would get her into the school? The idea of starting high school completely alone in a year was awful. Everyone in her school already had their friends. She'd be the weird lonely girl whose friends left her behind to go to a big fancy school. She hoped Emily had a human nature to appeal to.

“I don't want to be left alone,” Jess confess collapsing back in her chair across from Emily.

Emily's entire demeanor seemed to soften at that. She took off her glasses and leaned forward on the table in what appeared to be interest. She rested her elbow on the table and motioned her hand at Jess.

“Go on,” she encouraged in the gentlest voice Jess had heard from her yet.

“My old best friend Sam,” Jess found herself explaining and feeling tears finally slip from her eyes, “She has a new best friend. Her name is Hannah and she has this brother and sister, Josh and Beth and this friend named Chris. They're all really cool except Chris, but he's alright too I guess. They've been my friends for the last year. We all hang out all the time and it's great. We're all in the same grade at school and we all have lunch together and have classes together. It's fun. But Hannah and her brother and sister are really rich and their dad gives a lot of money to Madison so that's where they're going to school next year and Chris and Sam are both really smart so they're going to go too. I just- other people at school, they don't like me. Sam was my only friend for a long time. I don't want to be alone again.”

Jessica had been crying into her hands for most of her confession and she had been told when she cries, and is really crying, that she is hard to understand so she doesn't know if Emily heard her. She doesn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. When she looked up though Emily's face was neutral, but soft. It was hard to tell what exactly she was thinking about, but she reached her hand out and straightened Jess' application on the table between them.

“You've been in a couple of school productions,” Emily told her and Jess nodded, “You were even the lead once. Put that at the front of your application. Madison is boosting their theater program because some hot-shot director former student of theirs donated a bunch of money to renovate the art building. My parents are on the donation committee and word is students specializing in the thespian arts have a better chance of getting in this year because of the big donation.”

“In the meantime,” Emily continued as Jess listened in complete disbelief at the turn around, “I'll help you study for your entrance exam. You should probably take it in late July. It will give you less study time, but your chances of getting in will be better. It's the best balance for you.”

Jess nodded again trying to get her breathing under control as she did. Emily nodded back and then pulled out a napkin and wrote down her phone number and her available study hours before handing it over to Jess. She took it and sat there staring at it finishing her drink as Emily left the coffee shop.

Spoiler Alert: With Emily's help Jess got into Madison and it was the beginning of something special.

\---

Slipping from Enemies into Friends had been quick and easy which was the opposite of the nature of their entire relationship after. Slipping from Friends into Lovers happened much the same way.

It was Chris' birthday. Technically Emily would be in town for Easter with her family and would be staying with Jess as she often did when she was in town, but when Ashley called and asked them all to go out for her fiance's birthday they felt they had to agree. Ashley confessed often to Jessica that she worried about Chris. He acted like he was fine all the time. Worst of all she, probably correctly, thought he only did it for her sake. Chris hadn't celebrated his birthday the last few years and Jessica couldn't believe he had agreed to it. It went unsaid between the six of them but they each suspected Chris didn't celebrate his birthday anymore because the first person to ever thrown him a birthday party was Josh.

It wasn't so much a party though as it was nine young adults going out to a low-key place together to drink, hang out and dance a little on a weekend night. They just also had some small gifts for their friend as well. They were meeting at nine at a cute little artsy place that Ashley had definitely chosen. Chris wasn't very picky, and usually if Ashley was happy then he was too. Jess was bringing her newest boyfriend, Victor, which she would feel weirder about if Matt hadn't assured her he was also bringing his live-in girlfriend.

Victor was driving them to the bar. He was a kindergarten teacher with dark tanned skin and blue eyes. They had met while both volunteering on a project for Habitat for Humanity. They had dating for about three weeks so she figured it was time he met her friends. That was when Carol met her friends, wait she hadn't dated Carol last, she had dated Cynthia last. Either way it was time that he met her friends.

“So, you've known all of these people since at least high school?” he asked skeptically as they drove. She wasn't surprised. People asked that question of her a lot. Apparently it was weird to still be this close to all your high school friends.

“I've known some of them longer,” she answered, “Sam and I have been friends since we were little.”

“Don't you have any college friends?” he asked casually, “Or did you all go to the same college too?”

He was trying not to sound judgmental, but it was there. It was always there. People didn't understand what they had survived together. Jess just couldn't walk away from any of them. None of them could. 

Jess sighed as she answered, “I didn't go to college.”

“Oh.” More judgment. She could feel it. He tried to force on a smile and appear friendly. At least he was trying to be nice to her. She hoped he wouldn't ask about it.

“Who's birthday is it again?” he asked instead looking back at her present in his back seat and she appreciated that. He wasn't pressing. She liked when people left her past alone.

“Chris,” she answered returning his smile with one of her own, “He's the tall annoying one with glasses and blonde hair. He's engaged to Ashley, she's the cute, tiny, quirky redhead.”

“That's your best friend, right?” he asked leaning closer to her.

“No,” she answered with a laugh. It was a common mistake, she hung out with Ashley a lot these days, “That's Emily. She's the one with black hair, deadly eyes and a major attitude. She's great.”

“She sounds it,” he replied sarcastically while rolling his eyes away from her and back onto the road. Jess shook her head and smiled while looking out the window.

“You don't get it,” she explained, “Emily is... special. You kind of have to know her to understand.”

“Right, okay,” he answered her sounding like he wanted to trust her on that, even if he didn't quite yet, “Keep giving me info. Was it Mike or Matt that she used to date?”

Oh poor fool who never had a very close group of friends.

Sam and Mike were already there when Jess arrived with her boyfriend, which was expected as they were the first to arrive everywhere. Sam shoved her pool cue into Mike's free hand and ran to her so they could hug in that big excited way like they always did when they saw each other after a long time. Then Sam dragged her over to the others at the pool table with Victor rushing to keep up behind them.

“Jess is here,” Sam announced holding her hand up in presentation and giggling, she was clearly a little tipsy already, “And she brought a hottie along with her, of course.” Sam winked at her before letting go and heading back over to Mike and taking back her cue stick. Mike leaned down to kiss her head and Jess looked away as Ashley, who was sitting in a stool, hopped down to also give her a big loving hug.

“Hey, Jess, thanks for coming,” Ashley said, clearly meaning it then pulling away she turned to Victor, and reached out her hand, “I'm Ashley, nice to meet you.”

“Victor, and same to you,” he said pulling her hand up to kiss it, like a real gentleman. He was smooth. Jess only dated the best after all.

“Well, Victor,” Chris suddenly called out from the other side of the pool table trying and failing to sound like he was just joking around, “If I were you I'd take note of that little lady's engagement ring.”

“I'm guessing that you're Chris then,” he answered letting go of Ashley who was rolling her eyes, “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks,” Chris said and clearly didn't mean it as he leaned back down to take his shot in the game. Ashley walked back over to his side but Jessica could clearly hear her whispering to him, 'Chris, really? He came here with Jess for goodness sakes.'

“I'm Mike,” Mike said moving forward to shake Victor's hand, “Please don't kiss my hand.”

“I won't,” Jess' boyfriend promised with a laugh. At least Mike was being friendly. She could always count on him for that. Sam was under Mike's free arm and she gave Jess a look that said 'Girl, he's cute' Jess mouthed, 'I know, right?' and Sam laughed.

“And this annoying brat is my girlfriend,” Mike continued when she did that and hugged Sam tightly to himself as he said, “Her name is Sam.”

“Hey,” Sam complained, playfully smacking him then turned to Jess, “Can you believe this guy?”

Jess laughed too because she could believe it. Mike was always teasing and playing around. He was a funny, silly guy. He turned back to the game because it was his turn and Sam started to ask Victor a few questions about himself which Jess was happy for. She tried not to stare at Mike, but he was right there. He looked happy tonight. She focused hard on that. He was happy.

“Where is everybody else?” Jess asked as a distraction when Ashley wandered back over to stand next to her. It seemed like she and Sam had abandoned the game now that Jess and her boyfriend were here. The guys barely seemed to notice and it looked like it was almost over anyway.

“Em should be here soon. She's done having dinner with her mom. As for Matt...” Ashley made a face, and looked towards Sam.

“He's here already,” Sam confessed looking away and playing with her hair.

“What? Where?” Jess asked looking around for him in the bar. Her boyfriend did the same even though he didn't know what Matt looked like.

“He's out back with Cinnamon,” Sam explained further stressing the final word in her sentence and leaning forward with meaning.

“With what?” Victor asked. Cinnamon was the name of Matt's new girlfriend.

“Babe,” Jess interrupted, “Will you go to the bar and get us a couple of drinks?”

He gave her that look that told her that he knew she was trying to get him to leave so they could have a conversation that didn't involve him. But he only sighed out loudly and headed towards the bar anyway. He looked back and she gave him a grateful smile before turning back to her girlfriends.

“Are they fighting or fucking?” were the next words out of Jess' mouth.

“It's too early in the night for either,” Ashley said as if she was upset. Jess didn't blame her. This was the first time Chris had agreed to celebrate his birthday in years and she probably thought Matt might wreck it, but she did add, “But I'd guess fighting.”

“I think they're just talking,” Sam said, looking worried and interested at the same time, “Though she looked pretty upset when they left.”

“Do you know what they were talking about?” Jess asked. Sam shrugged and turned towards Ashley who looked back at the guys for a second before motioning the other two over to the table she had been sitting at before. The three walked over calmly glancing around to make sure none of the guys followed them there. People always asked Jess how she could be friends with girls who seemed to be so different from her. The truth was Ashley and Sam weren't so different from Jess. They could both be worse than her and Emily even. At least she and Emily didn't look through people's phones (Sam) or listen in on other people's conversations (Ashley).

“Okay,” Ashley said once they were sitting down, “So, I didn't hear everything because I wasn't you know trying to hear what they were saying or anything...” 'Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Ash.'

“But she was talking about how much he has been drinking lately,” Ashley said sadly which made both Jess and Sam sigh. So much for Matt's sobriety, “And he responded by blaming it on his 'finical stress.' You know they just got a shared savings account, right?”

“What? No way!” Sam almost gasped, “That is huge!”

“Especially because you know Matt is making bank,” Jess added and she had a pretty good idea where the rest of the story was leading but before she could say anything else she heard another voice join in the conversation from behind her.

“Oh, I know. I should have married that man when I had the chance to,” it said, “Imagine what I would have gotten in the divorce settlement.”

“Emily!” all three of them cheered at once, but none louder than Jess. The girls ran forward to hug her having not seen her since the annual Christmas party she and Jess held at Jess' apartment. She grimaced of course, hating all the physical attention they gave her. Sam and Ashley pulled away first, but Emily let Jess hold her longer like she always did. Because like Emily was to her, to Emily Jess was special.

“My favorite part about visiting is that I get bombarded by three beautiful women every time I do,” Emily joked dully when Jess finally pulled away, “It's every lesbian's dream.”

Jess laughed and hugged her again even though she knew Emily hated displays of affection like this. She always made an exception for Jess. Always.

“Hey Em,” Mike's voice cut in and he was the first person Emily actually reached out to hug. He was the first person Emily ever loved so that at least made sense. Even though Jess never understood how Emily could be gay, but somehow claimed to have loved both Mike and Matt when she was with them.

“It's good to see you, Mike,” Emily said pulling back after their short hug. Then she nodded her head in Chris direction. For his part Chris stepped forward and put his hand on Emily's shoulder. Emily put her hand on his hand in return. They were not going to hug each other. Their relationship wasn't like that.

“Happy birthday, Chris,” Emily said and Jess saw her squeeze his hand gently.

“Thanks, Em,” Chris responded before pulling his hand back. This is when Jess felt the hand of her new boyfriend on her back. She turned around to see that he had placed both their drinks on the table next to him and was waiting to be introduced to the newcomer to the group. He smiled his slightly crooked but handsome smile at her. She took a deep breath wondering why this felt so much weightier than it had previously. It felt like a much bigger deal at this moment that he was meeting all her friends.

“Emily, have you seen Jess' new catch?” Jess heard Sam tease and turned around to see her elbowing the other girl. Sam winked at Jess before heading off towards the pool table. The guys had wandered away there again too in order to the finish their game. Ashley had gone with them this time. Victor held his hand out to Emily. Emily didn't take it and Jessica realized why things felt worse all of a sudden. Because she was going to be Emily about it. Well, at least he hadn't met Matt yet. That would be nice.

“I'm Victor,” her date tried stretching his hand out a little for emphasis. Emily made no move to take it. Emily crossed her arms, her eyes traveling up and down his form inspecting him. Jess tried not to smile at that. Awkwardly he put his hand down. The three of them stood in silence with Emily analyzing Victor and him standing there shifting like he felt like he was losing a competition he didn't know he had been entered in. She tilted her head to the side and quirked up one eyebrow. She took in every part of him in seconds. Jess could see the perfect advanced wheels that were Emily's precise mind turning behind her slick sultry eyes. She understood the judgments she was making by the way her dark slim lips twitched and curved as her eyes darted from feature to feature. She was not overly impressed with him that was clear enough but in her eyes he was passable so she nodded and shrugged her shoulders.

“Eh,” she finally said before her eyes shifted over to something off to the right of them. Then she was gone and Jess followed her with her gaze to see that Matt was coming in from the back with a girl so white she made Chris look tan. Emily was rushing over to greet him. Much like Mike she extended her arms for a short hug to him. Jess started to laugh. She turned back to her boyfriend and shut up though. He didn't seem mad so much as he seemed confused and annoyed. Okay he seemed a little mad.

“Well, she's rude,” he said trying to sound lighthearted about it, “And a little scary.”

“She's Emily,” Jess answered because whether he understood it or not that explained everything.

Victor didn't seem to want to be by Emily after that even though Jess did. She was going to be seeing Emily later though at her apartment since the other girl would be staying with her so she figured it was better to stick by her boyfriend. It wasn't so bad. So while they others were off doing one thing, they managed to strike up a nice conversation with Ashley who was an education major at school and would be starting her student teaching in the Fall. Victor loved to talk about work so that was something they had in common. Things seemed to be going well up until Victor had to go to the bathroom.

“He seems nice,” Ashley said but there was a implication there that Jess didn't like. Almost like Ashley was trying to say 'but not much else.' While it made sense due to Ashley's own weird standards on what made someone an attractive mate, Jess still felt insulted by that. She was about to comment when a loud male voice cut her off.

“I swear to god you are saying that just to annoy me!” both Ashley and Jess snapped their head in the direction of the voice having a good guess already at who it was.

“Oh I'm sorry, did I step on your privileged white male toes, Chris?” Emily was saying. She was sitting at a nearby table across from Chris. He was rubbing his forehead. She was tapping her fingers on the table in that way that meant she wasn't playing anymore and he had actually pissed her off. They were in a heated debate about something. Ashley looked back at Jess and rolled her eyes. Jess did the same. See here's why Emily and Chris' arguments were most of the time ridiculous. They agreed on almost every single human rights and political issue there was under the sun, what they disagreed on were the smaller details or ways in which to go about those issues. And those few issues that they disagreed on were minor. So if either lady had to take a wild guess they were probably arguing over something like...

“How can you be against the legalization of marijuana? You said yourself that the laws were based off of a scare tactic developed by the paper industry,” Chris said throwing up his hands, “It's less harmful than things that are currently legal.” Jess groaned. Not this one again.

“That is such a stupid argument,” Emily retorted, “Things that are legal also being dangerous isn't an argument for more less dangerous but still dangerous things to be made legal. It's an argument for those things to be made illegal. And once again the decriminalization of marijuana accomplishes everything you claim legalization would do without making a harmful drug legal.”

“Marijuana is not a harmful drug, no more than caffeine is anyway,” Chris argued back getting louder, “Especially if you don't smoke it.”

“But you do smoke it,” Emily countered pointing at him, “So does your fiance. Which is, by the way, the only reason you want it to be legal. You wouldn't want to have to bail Ash out of jail because of all her anxiety problems, right?”

Jess shot Ashley the look that told her it was time for them to step in. Emily had done the very thing everybody knows not to do when Chris is getting riled up. She pushed the Ashley button. There's only one person that Jess knew of who got away with hitting that particular nerve on Chris and they were currently locked away either in the state penitentiary or a mental hospital. 

The two girls got up quickly and made their way over to Emily and Chris' table. Jess grabbed the open chair and pulled it right up next to Emily's before she plopped herself down in it. She leaned in close to her best friend with a big forced smile on her face and grabbed one of her hands in her own two hands. Ashley opted understandably for a much less subtle approach by settling herself right onto Chris' lap and hugging him around his neck. They gave the two girls and then each other a look because neither was stupid and they knew exactly what they were attempting to do. It seemed like a truce might be called, but Jess and Ashley agreed silently it was still a good idea to get them away from each other.

“Chris,” Ashley said pressing herself against him, “I wanna dance.”

“You know that I can't dance,” Chris answered and Jess gave him credit for not falling for that.

“Well then,” Ashley tried again, using a voice that was so perfectly equal parts seductive and innocent Jess was amazed she managed something as manipulative as that, “Can you stand on the dance floor while I dance up against you?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” he agreed blushing and smiling, because of course he did. He wasn't that strong of a man to begin with. So with a victorious smirk Ashley hopped up and dragged Chris away towards where the music was coming from and where people were grinding their bodies together. She looked back at the other two girls for a second and giggled a little at them. Like Mike, Ashley was happy too. She just wanted Chris to have a good time for his birthday. Jess looked over at Emily to see her stick out her tongue and put her finger in her mouth to indicate throwing up. Unlike with Victor, who still hadn't returned from the bathroom and she wondered if maybe he was sick, this actually upset her.

“Hey,” Jess complained to Emily with more attitude then was necessary, “Ashley is happy with Chris. And I'm happy for her.”

“I'm happy for Ash,” Emily defended pulling a face at Jess' freak out, “She been on the guy's dick since we were fifteen it's about time she was actually getting off from it.”

“Em,” Jess scolded seriously, “Really. Stop. I don't know what your issue is tonight but stop.”

“Sorry,” Emily said and sounded like she meant it. Jess took a deep breath and leaned back. Emily did the same. They sat in comfortable silence together, listening to the loud people in the bar and the music around them. Matt had sort of made up with his girlfriend and they were being awkward around each other as Sam and Mike tried to keep peace and conversation going between them. Chris really couldn't dance but neither could Ashley for how much she loved it. They seemed to be having fun regardless.

“I know you like messing with Chris, but why would you take it so far?” Jess finally asked. The two of them were known for their debating, but this had been something else entirely. Emily seemed like she was mad. Not playfully mad like she was most of the time, but genuinely upset about something.

“I don't know,” Emily admitted almost too quietly for Jess to even hear her, “I'm having a hard night. And he's easier to set off when he's drunk.”

Well that would explain his mean attitude when she and Victor first showed up. Chris was one of those drunks who got weird mood swings. Emily didn't say any more on the subject though.

Jess watched Emily for awhile as Emily watched the people on the dance floor. She didn't look like she had put on any extra mascara before she showed up at the bar. That would have been a clear sign that she fought with her mom before showing up. There were no other signs of a fight with her mother either. No broken nails. Her hair didn't look recently done because she messed it up after pulling at it so much. Her voice also wasn't even a little strained at all. An argument with her mom was out. She wasn't dressed to overly impress anybody, though she of course looked gorgeous as she always did. Her nail polish was chipping so they were done awhile ago. Her make-up was simple, yet elegant too. There was no recent lost love in her life. Jess didn't think it could be a work thing because Emily didn't do badly at work. Ever. If it was Jess wouldn't know the signs for it because it had never happened before. Jess figured she'd ask Emily more about all this later. Her best friend was more likely to open up to her while they were alone than out in public like this.

Suddenly Emily smirked and laughed a little to herself, “That girl's either really good at distraction or she went too far and worked herself up.”

Jess smiled and turned to see what she was looking at. Emily and Jess loved to spy on their friends (and complete strangers) together. She spotted Chris and Ashley again no longer on the dance floor together but off to one side of the bar. Chris sat in a stool and was holding Ashley close to his body, who was standing in between his legs. She was whispering something into his ear. Based off of his face Jessica guessed whatever she was saying he was enjoying it.

“The promise of kinky birthday sex?” Jess asked with a giggle. Emily nodded.

“Oh, definitely,” Emily agreed leaning in close, “That girl only plays innocent. I can tell.” 

Jess smiled and laughed as she looked over to shove Emily playfully away. Just passed Emily she saw Cinnamon stomping away from Sam, Mike and Matt. Victor had joined them at some point and was sitting with Matt and seeming to try and talk with him about something. Matt was waving him off while downing a beer. Sam chased after the other girl, but Mike stopped her before she got too far. Jess pulled her eyes away when Mike pulled Sam into a comforting and loving embrace. Emily notice right away though and leaned back in to put her arm around her in an equally comforting and loving way.

“How are you handling that?” Emily said in a gentle voice that seemed reserved for Jess alone.

“He's happy,” Jess replied forcing a smile and nodding. 

“That isn't what I asked,” Emily pressed on. Jess sighed and looked towards the ceiling. Emily was the only other person who knew why she had really broken up with Mike.

“I miss him,” Jess admitted, “I don't want him back, but I miss him sometimes. You know? And it can be hard to see him... with her.”

“I understand that completely,” Emily said pulling her in for a tight hug. Jess felt very bad because she knew that was true and she knew she was to blame. They jumped back from each other as they heard a male voice yell out before it was followed by another. They turned to see Matt storming away in the opposite direction that Cinnamon went. Mike and Sam looked like they were apologizing to Jessica's boyfriend and she wondered if she should go over there. Jess decided it was good Ashley had taken the birthday boy away from all of this as well.

“What is going on with that anyway?” Emily asked obviously happy for the subject change. Jess raised her eyebrow at her and Emily gave her a knowing look, “Oh, I know you. And I know that you know.”

Jess answered, “Well they finally got a joint checking account and she's been spending money faster than Matt can make it so he started drinking again. She didn't want to come tonight, but did because...”

“Ashley is here?” Emily asked before rolling her eyes. Jess nodded before doing the same. It wasn't a secret that Ashley and Matt were almost each others' closest friend. While it was true that Jess and Matt were probably closer friends, the difference was they had also considered dating after she had broken up with Mike, (and decided against it since Matt moved out of the state soon before this and Jess didn't want to date another of Emily's ex-boyfriends right after they broke up with her even if she was gay). Matt and Ash's relationship on the other hand had never been anything other than platonic. She claimed he was like the brother she never had. Yet every girl Matt dated was threatened by her. It was a cruel thought, but Jess believed it had something to do with her dating Chris. Ashley actually told Jess most of the reasons she found Chris sexy (which gross by the way) and even she had hard time buying it.

“Are you two going to “get real” in a minute?” Emily teased taking a sip of her drink and giving Jess an alluring look, “Because I missed it last time and I know you're good for it.”

“That bitch deserved it!” Jess defended knowing exactly what Emily was referring to.

“Yes, yes, how dare she... what did she do again?” Emily encouraged. She knew what Lisa had done. She was trying to rile Jess up. Jess tried not to take the bait, but it was too hard.

“She was starting drama with Ashley,” Jess cried out, “In her apartment. I mean it was so rude. I get that the cow thought we were all sleeping around with Matt because how dare your man have female friends or whatever, but seriously she called Ashley a slut in the girl's own home like what the fuck?!”

“And it took how many people to pull you off of her?” Emily asked, biting her lip in amusement.

“Just Sam and Matt,” Jess answered feeling her face light up with a blush. Truth be told Jess had been in such a frenzy she had elbowed Sam in the face as she pulled her off Lisa. That was the thing she felt awful about. Not about hitting Matt's girlfriend (whom he had broken up with later that same day) and not for causing a scene in Chris and Ashley's apartment (Chris had even thanked her for standing up for his girlfriend). Only for hurting Sam by mistake (though Sam had forgiven her immediately and agreed the girl had deserved it).

“You didn't have to hit her,” Emily rationed but she was smiling and looked like she might even start laughing out loud at the mental image she had of Jess pinning another girl down onto the floor and beating her senseless as their friends tried to pry her off.

“Yes I did,” Jess countered, “She had it coming for a long time. Somebody had to do it and it might as well have been me.”

“You have always felt more responsible for that girl than it was ever your business to,” Emily replied, “I never could figure out why.”

“She's my friend,” Jess said wondering why Emily was being so weird tonight.

“You don't protect Sam or Matt that way,” Emily reasoned, “Or even me, best friend.” She stressed the last two words to make a point. Jess remained quiet. She wished she had a drink. She thought about signaling Victor to come over, but he was terrified of Emily. Emily didn't seem very interested in him either. She didn't want to tell Emily why she and Ashley had a special bond. It might hurt her best friend's feelings.

“I thought you might have a crush on her at first,” Emily continued, “But she isn't your type, is she? She's too shy and meek. She plays too many games. You like people who are more straight forward.”

“Why do you care?” Jess bit back feeling hostile, “Why are you always grilling me like this?”

With that Jess stood up and headed over to the larger group deciding she had spent too much time away from her boyfriend. It was a good idea considering that Chris and Ashley had wandered back over at some point and were involved in some private conversation with Sam and Mike. One full of old inside jokes and about making plans for later dates. The four of them did that a lot lately. Mike and Sam had become Chris and Ashley's designated 'couple friends' and it seemed to be true for the other pair too.

Victor looked relieved to finally have Jess back by his side. That upset her. She didn't want to be with someone who couldn't handle himself around her friends. Although with Matt and his own girlfriend fighting she guessed these weren't really normal circumstances and she didn't exactly have a normal group of friends. When she looked back over to where Emily had been sitting only moments before the blacked haired girl was gone.

“So what were you and Morticia Adams talking about?” her boyfriend tried to joke putting an arm around her. 

“Different things,” she answered wanting to say 'none of your business' instead, “Mostly girl stuff.”

“I don't think she likes me much,” Victor said trying to play it off as casual.

'That's because she doesn't.'

\---

Emily may not have liked Victor but she didn't protest the ride back to Jess' place that he gave them both at the end of the night. She did shoot Jess a glare when Jess commented on how adorable tiny Ashley looked climbing into the driver's seat of Chris' pick-up truck. Cinnamon had left the bar with Matt's car earlier in the night so he went home with Ashley and Chris to stay on their couch claiming that he didn't want to sleep in the same hotel bed as her anyway. Sam and Mike were the worst, almost eating each others' faces off in the parking lot as he lamented about the fact that she couldn't come home with him acting like no one could see or hear them when they were in full view of everyone.

The ride to Jess' place went by in almost complete silence. Jess' boyfriend tried to strike up a few conversations, but Jess felt like Emily, who remained quiet most the ride, was judging her answers so she kept them short. He didn't give up trying until they were almost at her building though. The last thing he asked was why Emily had no bags with her. She told him that she brought them over before she took a cab over to the bar. When he asked how she got into to Jess' apartment, Emily said that she used her keys. Victor did not react well upon hearing that Emily was in possession of her own set of keys to Jess' apartment. Her partners never did. He was tense until they pulled up to her building.

“Thanks for the ride,” Emily was polite enough to respond as she climbed out of the backseat and headed for the front of the building to wait for Jess. Jess smiled over at Victor. He gave her a look that said he wanted to talk about a lot of different things, but Jess was in no mood. At least not tonight.

“Thanks for the ride, babe,” she said quickly climbing out of his car, “And thanks for coming out with me tonight. I hope you had a nice time.”

“It was certainly something,” he responded with what was obviously a very forced smile, “I'll call you tomorrow so we can maybe meet up or something.”

“We'll see,” she answered not wanting to commit to anything because he probably still wanted to talk about “them” and meeting her friends and Emily having a key to her place and Jess was not about that. She blew him a kiss as she closed his car door and hurried off. He waited awhile before driving away from her building. Any other time he probably would have walked her up, but none of them wanted to force him and Emily to be around each other any longer than necessary tonight. Speaking of Emily she was waiting outside the lobby doors of the building. She smiled in a way that could be interpreted as an apology as Jess approached and they locked arms before she dragged them both inside.

“You could have been nicer to him,” Jess said with a sigh as they headed for the lone elevator together walking perfectly in-step as they did hundred of times before.

“Why?” Emily almost laughed as she pressed the button and the door opened almost instantly for them, “You're going to replace him with some new person in less than two weeks anyway.”

“How do you know?” Jess asked offended as they stepped into the elevator together and she pressed the number for her floor. Emily laughed teasingly and pulled her closer.

“Because you never stay with anybody for longer than that after you've introduced them to all of us,” Emily said knowingly as the elevator lifted them up into the air, “Don't forget that I know you.”

That wasn't true. Was it? Jess had dated quite a bit in the last three years. The exact number was in the lower double digits. Probably around eleven or twelve people. It wasn't possible that she had broken up with almost all of her partners right after they met her friends. That couldn't be right. Yet as she thought about it she realized it very much was the case. She rounded up to twelve people that she had dated and of that number only eight of them had actually met her friends: Tiffany, James, Pauline, Samuel, Kyle, Mark, Cynthia and Victor. Some of them she had been dating for almost two whole months, others she had only been seeing for a few weeks. Sure enough though, Jess had dumped each person within two weeks of them meeting her group of friends. Twice it happened after one of her friends' birthday party; Sam's and Matt's respectively. Once it was right after her and Emily's annual Christmas party. One time it had been the night after they went to Chris and Ashley's engagement dinner. Two of them had been after summer barbeques thrown by Mike. And the most recent one had been on New Year's Eve which Jess and her partner had celebrated with all her friends at Chris and Ashley's apartment.

Jess was still thinking about it when the elevator stopped on her floor and Emily pulled her out and through the hall to her apartment. Jess wasn't like Ashley or Sam and she didn't usually seek out patterns in the universe. She truly believed things were random. She honestly thought things simply just happened. She didn't place faith in religion or gods or the supernatural, not the kind that guided people anyway. Her experiences on the mountain hadn't changed that about her.

It was hard not to think as Emily opened the door with her key and led her into her home that this didn't have some meaning behind it though. It couldn't possibly be random that Jess ended her relationships immediately after they began intermingling with the part of her life that included her friends. She didn't think it was the stairs telling her something or anything. No, she thought it had to be something going on with her. She was ditching perfectly acceptable partners and her only clue as to why was her close group of friends.

Emily released her and headed for the kitchen. Jess was slowly closing the door as she processed this information in her mind and heart. She wandered over to the couch in her living room and fell on it. She felt like she needed a drink, which was ridiculous because she had just come home from the bar. She could hear Emily, who was perfectly at home in her apartment, rummaging around in her kitchen looking for something. It seemed like the older they got the less boundaries the two of them had with one another. She didn't even notice when the other girl joined her on the couch with a late night snack.

“Sam has me addicted to these Veggie chips,” Emily said popping open the bag before pulling open a jar of humus to go with it, “I'm so happy you're the same way because unlike you I actually gain weight from sugary sweets.”

Jess was trapped in her own mind as she watched Emily chow down on chips and humus. Somehow she even made eating messy food look classy. The girl had the gift of poise. She continued chatting for a few more minutes before stopping and starring at Jess.

“Are you listening to me?” Emily asked putting the bag on Jess' glass coffee table. No Jessica had been replaying all of her past break-ups in her head. Jess shook her head and tried to look apologetically at her best friend. Emily sighed and leaned back. She rolled her eyes and then before Jess had a chance to say anything else Emily announced, “It's hard to be the single friend, okay?”

“What?” Jess asked taken aback. That seemed to come out of nowhere.

“Look I get it,” Emily continued, “You want to know why I was mean to your boyfriend and was being hard on Chris tonight and that's why. I've only had one girlfriend since coming out. One! Meanwhile Chris and Ashley are getting married, Matt has ladies falling all over him, Mike and Sam are dating, and you have a new lover every two or three months. Being the single friend gets annoying, okay?”

Jess was speechless because that wasn't at all what she had been thinking about. Emily's sudden openness though made her feel bad for being hard on her. Emily lived far away from them. Further away then any of the rest of them did. From the way she talked she had very few friends up there in San Francisco and she wasn't dating. It wasn't like Emily to talk about this kind of stuff though so of course instead she lashed out. Maybe it would have been better for Matt and Jess to leave their dates out of this little get together.

“I was thinking about what you said in the elevator actually,” Jess said feeling the need to be honest as well after Emily's bluntness. They were usually the only ones who saw each others' insecurities, “About me replacing Victor two weeks from now.”

“Oh,” Emily answered blushing and trying to hide it. Jess smiled. She looked cute flustered and Emily hated when that happened to her, “I was just joking around with you about that. I didn't mean it.”

“But it's true though,” Jess insisted turning to Emily and leaning her head in her hand, “It's like what's wrong with me? The first sign that things are looking serious and I run for the hills. It's not wonder I haven't had a serious relationship since...”

Jess cut herself off. She didn't want to say his name because she didn't want him anymore.

“Emily,” Jess found herself saying, “It's better to be single and happy and know yourself than be dating people because you aren't sure what you want.”

“Do you want Mike back?” Emily asked gently reaching a hand out to touch her shoulder. Jess leaned towards her.

“No!” Jess insisted. She really didn't. She wanted what she had with Mike though. Someone who she could rely on. Someone who made her smile and laugh. Someone she had a history with. Someone she knew she trusted. Someone she could be herself with. Someone who understood her. Someone like...

Jess stared at Emily. She was the first person that came to mind. Emily Davis, who had seen her at her worse and seen her at her best and still loved her. Who Jess thought was powerful and beautiful and had always been there for her. Who had gone through Hell and come out of it remaining completely herself.

Emily with her dark hair and her sharp eyes. With her deep voice and her perfect figure. With her firm touch and her determined nature. With her high standards and her impossible expectations. With her beautiful face and her strong soul.

It was a strange feeling. To realize in one moment that you have always loved someone. That you had fallen in love with them maybe the moment you laid eyes on them, but had just in one moment figured it out. Jess talked often with Ashley about love and the other girl always described falling in love with Chris as a slow gradual process that happened over the course of their entire friendship. That isn't what Jess felt at all. She felt a ton of feelings fall on top of her and crush her all at once that she was sure had been there since she first saw Emily sitting and judging her in Starbucks at thirteen years old.

“So what do you want?” Emily asked her and Jess felt they were very close. Her face felt hot and with more timidness than she had ever shown in her life she answered.

“I want you.”

The fear that seized Jess the moment after she admitted that was the worst she had ever felt in her life. Thankfully the look of surprise on Emily's face was soon replaced with one of joy and wonder. Jess felt so special because she was the only one who ever got to see this side of Emily. Emily's own timidness came out as she to take Jess other shoulder in her hand and turned the girl to face her.

“Do you mean that?” Emily asked shyly. She sure did ask a lot of questions.

“Yes, I do,” Jess answered. Emily smiled a gentle smile.

“I'm not sure how to respond to that,” Emily said in a very quiet voice. Jessica felt a very familiar insecurity rise up from her stomach and coat her insides.

“That's a first,” she attempted to joke.

“I'm serious,” Emily continued, “I... I've never thought about us that way.”

“Really?” Jess asked skeptically, “Never?”

Emily sighed releasing Jess, much to her disappointment, and crossing her arms, “Alright, maybe not never never, but not for a long time and never very seriously.”

“But you've considered it,” Jessica responded moving as close to Emily as she could. Emily clicked her tongue in her mouth before saying anything.

“I've consider it, yes.”

“Is it what you want?” Jess continued not sure why this suddenly felt so very right to be doing.

“I'm not sure,” Emily answered honestly because even as Jess was bearing her heart to her Emily had to be herself always. She was brutally honest and calculating. She could be a hurricane of a emotions, but she wasn't easy to set off. That frustrated Jess. She didn't just want to talk about this. She wanted to do something about this.

That's why she kissed Emily.

It was hard forceful kiss with years worth of passion behind it. Not all of it good. Emily for her part in all of this responded immediately with equal force. Their hands went to each others shoulders and they grabbed each other tightly. They clung to each other and kissed for a long time. They kissed for so long to make up for all the years they should have been kissing. They kissed for so long to test which one of them would dare to pull away first. They kissed for so long because it was what they were meant to do.

When Jess finally pulled away because undoubtedly she always backed away from the powerhouse that was Emily first she felt warm and high. She had never had a kiss like that before in her life. It was the most innocent kiss she'd ever shared with anyone, but it made her heart race faster and her checks flare with color and heat. Emily was smiling and her lips were stained both with her own dark lipstick and Jess' much lighter shade. They were still holding each other and Emily began to gently laugh.

“You are the only person in the world,” she said between her giggles, “Who would dare to even try that with me Jess.”

From the way she looked and the way she said it Jess guessed that was a good thing. Emily went in to kiss her again and Jess happily responded. This time it was slower and they moved their lips sensually against each others' to feel the other person out. It was so comfortable. It was so natural. Emily's lips seem to fit perfectly with her own. Soon the tip of the dark haired girl's tongue was dipping in between her lips and Jess met it with her tongue and everything after that felt heightened. Jess let one of her hands drift down along Emily's back and the other stroked her long hair through her fingers. Emily held her around the waist and softly ran the fingers of one of her hands down her thigh. Jess was never this slow when she got down to business. But she wanted to savor every second of what was happening. Emily tasted like wine and humus and something richer that was unique to her. She smelled like fancy perfume and sweat from their night out. Her touches her firm and deliberate. Her skin was rougher than Jess would have imagined it to be and it was a little oily. She loved every part of it.

\---

Jessica isn't sure how or when they ended up in her queen bed together. She remembered that it had made sense because when Emily stayed there she always slept with Jess in her bed. And there was no reason to stop kissing her. Not when it was clearly what they both wanted to do.

“Are you happy, Emily?” Jess asked as they settled down together under her covers together. 

“Yes,” Emily answered with a smile and flushed face that Jess found very beautiful, “I'm very happy.”

“Me too,” Jess agreed. Jess couldn't think of another way to describe the warm, gooey feeling that had taken over her body. She liked knowing that this absolute happiness of hers was shared.

They gave each other sleepy kisses all the way up until they fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback always welcome.


End file.
